'This is very different from normal life': Preparations for the scenario of an attack from the east in the Norwegian Arctic

In the Port of Narvik in the Norwegian Arctic, the town's chief doctor watches as dozens of “injured” people are taken off a train and triaged before being taken by ambulance to nearby hospitals, Reuters reports.

Thomas Hultstedt is here to observe and learn during an exercise that is part of NATO's biannual “Cold Response” maneuvers in the European Arctic. They began on Monday and place greater emphasis this year on the role of civilians, companies and public institutions in supporting the armed forces in the event of war.

Hultstedt and other medical personnel rehearse a scenario in which the war began in Finland, and American and Norwegian soldiers fighting on the front lines, as well as civilians, must be flown to Norway for medical treatment.

According to the simulation, around 1,200 people would be transported over the next ten days to Narvik, although the actual exercise lasts only one day – Thursday – and involves around 100 volunteers, including students, who play the role of “wounded”.

“I've never participated in an exercise like this before,” Hultstedt said minutes before the train carrying the wounded arrived at the quays.

“It's good in the sense that you prepare for things that are out of the ordinary. This is very different from normal life. This is a war situation,” he stressed.

The train came from Finland via Sweden to Narvik, where the volunteers will be “treated” in civilian hospitals in the region. In a real situation, they would then be sent further to southern Norway or abroad.

Joint military exercises after all Nordic countries joined NATO

Hultstedt says this type of exercise was unthinkable five years ago.

“Then Sweden and Finland were not part of NATO… Now Norway has to do more. We have to bring in equipment and get the wounded out,” he told Reuters.

Finland and Sweden joined the military alliance in 2023 and 2024, respectively, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine convinced them to abandon decades of neutrality. Norway joined NATO in 1949 as a founding member.

Although NATO military planners never mention Russia by name, the scenario they train for involves an attack by an “enemy from the east.” Russia is about 600 km to the east in a straight line.

Moscow has repeatedly dismissed as “groundless alarmism” suggestions that it could attack a NATO member state in the future.

Narvik, an industrial city nestled between a 1,006-metre snow-capped mountain and the clear waters of a fjord, is one of the key points on Norway's coast where NATO allies plan to land should Finland, Sweden or Norway be attacked.

The railway line between Narvik and Kiruna, Sweden's northernmost city, and further east to Finland, is the main route for transporting equipment and troops between east and west in Arctic Scandinavia.

Narvik in 1940 was the site of one of the first battles of World War II, when Norwegian, British, French and Polish forces repelled Nazi German troops, before retreating after Germany invaded France.

“Total Defence” for Norway

Norway has declared 2026 as the year of “total defence”, the latest move by one of the Nordic countries to boost civilian preparedness.

“It is very important to close the gap between the military forces and civil society, because in a really critical situation – war – a lot of resources are needed,” Elisabeth Aarsaether, director of the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection, told Reuters.

She says that while Norwegian planners are confident that most households are better prepared to deal with a war than 4 years ago, there are concerns that local authorities are not ready, which is why new guidelines are being prepared.

“We would really like to help them,” she added.